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Cat Pencil Pet Portraits

Welcome to my cat portraits gallery. All of my cat portraits are hand drawn in graphite pencil on Italian paper. Pencil is a beautiful, classic and timeless medium. I am a professionally trained artist drawing animals, including cats for commission for nearly 22 years.

I work from a lovely purpose built studio with my husband who is also a pet portrait artist, in our woodland garden surrounded by trees and wildlife. It's the perfect place to draw and be creative! We are accompanied by our ever faithful companion Lily, a Tibetan Terrier.

Clients can commission a portrait of their cat from anywhere in the world, I have been commissioned from far and wide including UK, USA, Canada, Singapore, Hong Kong, Italy, France, Switzerland and Australia to name a few.

Why not find out how the commissioning process works Cat Portraits Process Page or perhaps view my Prices page which gives a variety of sizes. You can also visit my main pencil pet portraits website which gives all of the information you require. All of my sizes are bespoke and if you have a specific size in mind, just drope me a line. I look forward to working with you soon.

Cat Portrait of Penny

Jeanette (UK), contacted me to ask if I would be able to draw her cat Penny. She had always wanted a portrait of Penny and liked the idea of a classic pencil portrait of her. Jeanette took a number of photos of Penny outside in her garden which enabled her to capture her dark coloured coat in natural lighting. It is very important to have good lighting when taking photos for dark coloured coats. As you can see below Penny’s cat portrait came out beautifully. Jeanette very kindly emailed a photo of the portrait once it was framed and displayed in her home.

Hi Melanie,
We have had Penny framed. We chose an antique pewter frame to fit in with the décor and framed with a double mount as you recommended. We introduced a coloured mount (olive green) to compliment her eyes, as suggested by our framer. We think it really offsets your drawing and hope you like it too.
Many thanks again.
Jeanette xx

Cat Montage of Gilli

The portrait of Gilli was commissioned by Vivian in Hong Kong for her friends birthday. Gilli was such a pleasure to draw, I thoroughly enjoyed both drawing and designing the portrait with Vivian. My framer Amanda also framed the portrait too and you can see the finished scan below, along with a photo of the portrait with my pencils on to show scale and a photo of the portrait framed. Why not pop over to Gilli's page to read more about the commission and see lots more photos. Cat Pet Portraits Montage »

Hi Melanie,
That is awesome! Thank you so much!!
It has been my pleasure to work with you!
To create such a beautiful and unique birthday present!!!!
Thank you very much!!!
Best wishes,
Vivian

Cat Portrait of Tai and Chi

The portrait of Tai and Chi was commissioned by Nancy Miller in 2014 to give as a Christmas gift for her daughter in 2014. The photo of Tai and Chi was excellent to work from, they were lazing in the summer sunshine as you can see and the whole scene was fantastic to draw. I really enjoyed drawing them and you can see photo of both Tai and Chi below along with a photo of the cats with my pencils on to see the scale of the drawing. If you would like to see the portrait in more detail and read about it, head on over to their webpage - Siamese Cat Portraits »

Hi Melanie,
They look wonderful! My daughter will be so pleased.
Thank you so much,
Nancy

Tyson's Cat Portrait

Kim, from the USA, commissioned me to draw her gorgeous cat Tyson, who had sadly passed away. She wanted a 12" x 10" pencil drawing of him along with the pencil portrait framed. You can see a few photos below, the final scan, the portrait with my pencils on, the portrait framed and one of Kim with the drawing displayed in situ. Kim telephoned me personally to thank me for the portrait and you can read one of Kims emails below too. If you would like to read more about Tyson's commission and see more photos, why not head over to his page on my pencil website
Cat Pet Portrait of Tyson »

Hi Melanie,
I absolutely LOVE it. I hope all is well and thank you, again, for everything.
Kim

Double Cat Portrait of Pixie & Boots

The portrait of Pixie and Boots is a 16" x 12" pencil portrait which was commissioned by Howard Lawrence. Howard purchased one of my gift vouchers as a surprise for his wife’s birthday. Julie was then able to take photos of her cats in the exact poses she wanted and help design the portrait exactly as she wanted it to be. I have added a final scan below, the photos I worked from along with me working on the drawing. if you would like to see more about the commission and see a photo of the finished portrait hanging in situ in Julie's home, pop over to my pencil portrait website and see their page - Cat Pet Portraits »

Hi Melanie,
I'm really pleased with it; I wanted it to be of a 'significant' size and not look cramped framed. We did attempt to take some photos of the cats with their portrait but they are not performers and now it has turned too hot and they aren't keen on being handled! Being British weather we never seem to get time to acclimatise but get wham! scorching hot! I like the morning temperature but would quite like access to a swimming pool to cool off in later in the day!
Best wishes.
Julie

Cat Portrait of Lucy and Leo

Kevin, USA, commissioned a lovely portrait of their two cats called Lucy and Leo. He also asked for the portrait to be framed in our Madison frame which pairs so well with my drawings. The double mount with inner dark grey colour really brings the whole drawing and frame together so well. The drawing was to be a surprise for Kevin's wife for Christmas and you can read an email Kevin sent when he received the portrait below.

Melanie,
I opened it up last night and it looks great. Erika is going to love it.
Thank you,
Kevin

Cat Portrait of Apache and Lynx

The pencil drawing of Apache and Lynx was commissioned by Chris for his girlfriends birthday. Chris called me on the phone a few times to make all of the arrangements, however when emailing I conversed with Chris' mum Mary so that no surprises were ruined! The pencil drawing of Apache and Lynx was created at 16 x 12 size and framed in the Madison frame. When the portrait was ready it was shipped direct to Mary who happily passed it on to Chris to hide for the big birthday reveal. Mary emailed when the portrait arrived...

Hi Melanie,
Portrait arrived safely and is beautiful. I am sure when Chris gives her the portrait she will be delighted. After seeing I am thinking about getting you to do one of our dog Ellie.
Many thanks,
Mary.

Cat Portrait illustrations

McAdams pet food company contacted me in 2017 to ask if I would be able to draw two cats for their new range of packaging for cat food. I was delighted and thrilled that my artwork would be part of their range. They asked for two cats to be drawn in a slightly looser style to match in with their other drawings. As you can see the drawings were used in 4 package designs in the range. I have added them below for you to view from their website. The managing director Neil McAdams saw the drawings at the early stage and emailed below. A wonderful opportunity and something I would definitely do again.

Cat Portrait of Rufus and Floyd

This portrait was completed for Sebastian Durant based in the UK, just prior to Christmas in 2015. Sebastian emailed me many photos of his cats Rufus and Floyd and I created a number of designs for them to work out a perfect composition for both cats. The family were thrilled that the portrait could be complete before Christmas, as a lasting memory of two most wonderful cats.

Dear Melanie,
It looks amazing, I am delighted with it.
You've done such a fantastic job, thank you ever so much.
Yours,
Sebastian

Visit next...

View more of my portraits on my dedicated pencil pet portraits website. Pop over to view my drawings, along with lots more information, frames, up close in detail gallery with more information and prices. If you would like me to create a graphite pencil portrait of your cat, please don't hesitate to contact me at any time.